Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stable aqueous suspension comprising a nutrient, as well as to a method of rendering a normally hydrophobic nutritional compound or ingredient dispersible in water or in an aqueous system.
Description of the Related Art
Nutritional compounds, i.e. nutritional supplements, have been shown to help prevent the onset of undesirable conditions in man. These substances have been identified as either essential to human health (e.g. vitamins), or may, based on the increasing compilation of studies, play a role in maintaining health. For example, phytosterol and/or phytostanol esters have been shown to reduce serum cholesterol levels in man (mammals) upon consumption, and subsequent digestion in the gut. The mechanism for this is not completely known. Scientists theorize that these compounds block absorption of cholesterol produced and released from the body through the normal hepatic function, or consumed as a component of food. In reducing serum cholesterol levels, current wisdom deduces that heart and circulatory health may be maintained by preventing such conditions as arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, etc.
Nutritional ingredients, such as lutein, are currently available in tablets or other dry forms because heretofore they could not be satisfactorily dispersed in water. The nutritional ingredients, such as the phytosterols, phytostanols, lutein, isoflavones, Coenzyme Q10, are typically hydrophobic and are not ordinarily dispersible in aqueous systems because they are only slightly water or oil soluble, if to any degree at all.
The nutritional ingredients are desirable for use in beverages and cosmetics, in the form of aqueous suspensions, dispersions, or liposomes. Accordingly, a means for rendering these ingredients water dispersible or dispersible in an aqueous system is needed and desired.